A Chat with Rex
by Centralia Currie
Summary: Detective Britten confronts Rex about the message he left on Tara's phone as he was in custody. A cute 'awwww' moment between father and son. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Awake or any of these characters.

**Time Frame**: After the third episode. Rex has been brought home from the hospital after his abduction, and has a chance to confront his father after having left the message for him on his phone.

* * *

"Rex has decided to see a shrink. I'm very proud of him."

Michael Britten held a warm mug of coffee in his hands as he spoke to Dr. Evans. Sometimes it was difficult to speak to his shrink about his son, but today, the words just came flowing out. The coffee certainly helped; it was easier to talk when he felt warm inside.

"Why do you think your son has decided to talk to someone?"

Britten shrugged. "I know he thinks I'm taking his mother's loss better than he is, so maybe he thinks therapy will help. Plus, the people at the hospital encouraged him to get into therapy. He has a lot of feelings bottled up inside from the abduction." Rex had been treated for dehydration after his kidnapping and released about a week ago.

"Well, you're Rex's father, Mr. Britten. He still looks up to you. He wants to be a man, but on some days he struggles to learn how, just like any teenage boy. I'm sure that therapy is going to help Rex get over the trauma of his kidnapping, but do you think it's going to help him get over the loss of his mother?"

"Yeah. He needs to know from someone else that I love him."

"Have you made any efforts to bond with him lately?"

"I stayed home from work on Monday to take care of him. The doctors wanted him home from school for a couple of days. I made him the soup his mother used to make him when he was sick. It took me a couple of tries to get it right."

"I'm sure Rex was very thankful. Is he feeling better?"

Britten nodded. "He seems to be back to his old self. Just about," he added after a quick pause.

* * *

Dr. Evans was encouraging Detective Britten to bond with his son. Easy for her to say.

Back when all three of them were together, Hannah sometimes wished her moody son would revert back to the same boy in his baby pictures; the cute little Rexy, his dark hair shading his eyes, sucking his thumb as he posed for the camera in only a diaper.

All these years later, Rex was still a cute kid; just a typical teenager.

In his 'red' reality, Britten sometimes told Hannah about his dreams of their son. But there was no way he'd tell her that Rex had been abducted, whether the abduction was a dream or had been real. He could only imagine the tears that would run down Hannah's face.

When Britten got home from therapy that afternoon, Rex was in his room doing homework. Usually, he snacked on something, but he hadn't been eating lately, just drinking water.

"Hi, Dad," Rex greeted him tiredly, looking up from his desk. He looked so studious as he worked on his math homework.

"Rex," Britten smiled, walking into his son's room. He sat on the edge of Rex's bed. "How was school today? Are you catching up?"

Rex nodded. "I guess Cole told everyone I was sick."

"Well, Cole isn't exactly lying. You _were_ in the hospital. How are you feeling?"

"Sore. I couldn't go to tennis today. All of my joints hurt."

"That'll go away in a couple of days, Rex. I promise." He gently patted his son on the shoulder.

Rex cocked his head to the side. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Tara get her phone back?"

Britten smiled. "She sure did. I looked through it to check for damage-" he paused—"and then I returned it to her."

Rex's eyes went wide. "Did you-" he couldn't continue. Britten knew that his son was asking about the message that he'd recorded in captivity.

Britten nodded. "I sure did, Rex." He inched closer toward his son at the desk. "Rex, son, I know it's been hard for you since the accident. I know you might sometimes wish that your mother had survived instead of me, because it's sometimes awkward between us. I have to work all day, and I can't spend as much time with you as I would like."

Rex looked down and shifted uncomfortably, then looked back up at his father.

"But Rex, I love you, and I always will. I want you to be happy and successful. I want your mother to be proud of you where she is. You're such a strong kid. You can get through anything."

Rex got out of his desk chair and gave his father a hug. Michael Britten could never remember being squeezed so hard by his son.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Britten whispered to him. "I want you to rest and finish your homework while I make you some dinner, okay?"

Rex was nodding, still hugging his father. "Okay, Dad. I love you, too." He hastily tried to wipe some tears from his eyes.

"It's okay to cry, Rex. I almost lost you again."

Rex could only smile through his tears.


End file.
